Seeded sourdough

Profile picture for user Ru007
Ru007 on 18 Sep 2016 at 08:05

The last two weeks have been busy for me, but now exams are done! Well, for now at least, one more to go in November. For now, I’m free to bake and post again :)

This weekend, I decided to try a loaf with a mix of seeds, and after seeing CedarMountains beautiful seeded loaf i was quite inspired. 

Here’s the formula:

 

 

 

 

Weight (g)

 

Final dough

%

Levain (80 % hydration)

130

 

 

 

Water

263

 

321

80%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flour

330

 

402

100%

Unbleached white bread flour

280

 

280

70%

Whole wheat

50

 

119

29%

Rye flour

 

 

3

1%

 

 

 

 

 

Salt

9

 

9

2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

85

 

85

21%

Sunflower seeds

30

 

30

 

Pumpkin seeds

25

 

25

 

Black sesame seeds

15

 

15

 

White sesame seeds

15

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total dough weight

817

 

817

 

Method:

1. Levain builds in 3 stages, refrigerate over night.

2. Autolyse over night in the fridge.

3. Two hours before mixing, take levain and dough out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

4. Mix dough, seeds, levain and salt. Leave to rest for 45mins. I did at a bit more water at this point because the dough wasn't feeling as soft as i wanted it to. 

5. 4 sets of stretch and fold at 45 min intervals.

6. Allow to bulk ferment undisturbed for 2 ½ hours until, almost doubled in size and there are nice surface bubbles.

Pre shape, and allow to rest for 30 mins before shaping.

After shaping, place dough in a rice floured basket and put the basket in a plastic bag.

Leave the dough at room temp for another hour or so, before putting it in the fridge overnight.

I left the dough in the fridge for 19 hours.

7. Bake for 40 mins, at 250dC with steam for the first 20 mins and then for a further 20 mins at 220dC.

 

The loaf sprang pretty nicely

 The crust is thin and crackly.

The crumb came out fairly well too.

The flavour of this loaf is really good. It’s got a nice tanginess and the flavour of the toasted seeds also comes through nicely. This is one of those loaves that pretty much goes with anything!

Next time, I’m going to play around with the amount and proportions of seeds, maybe increase the % a bit. I also want to try adding some oat porridge along with seeds and see how that goes. 

Happy baking TFLers! 

You have nailed the open crumb! It is beautiful! And it would be delicious with those seeds in it! 

I am curious to see how a seeded bread would turn out with oat porridge. The loaf I have fermenting right now has a mixture of seed and I added a 10 grain cereal to it. However, I just soaked the seeds and cereal together overnight, I did not cook the cereal into a porridge. 

You're so kind! And it is a very tasty loaf. 

I'm also a bit unsure about the seeds and the porridge, but i suppose the worst that can happen is that it doesn't work! LOL!

I'll post my results and let you know what happens :)

Happy baking! 

Your breads are so beautiful!  I covet that blistery, crackling crust.  Do you spritz the loaves with water before throwing them into the oven?  

that's very nice of you :)

Now that you mention it, I did brush the surface of the dough with cold water before putting it in the oven! My last few loaves have had more blistering, and i couldn't figure out why. I actually brushed them with water because the surface of the dough felt a bit on the dry side. Hmmm... maybe that's what did it. LOL! 

Thanks again and happy baking :)

Thanks so much for your comments, it was so kind of you! And thanks for the link to the thread. There's so much information in yhese forums that's easy to miss :)

Happy baking.

inspirational - and you can learn a lot of great bread baking stuff to boot!  This bread looks great with that open crumb and blistered dark crust.  It has to be delicious! Very nice indeed!

Well done and happy baking Ru007

Thanks for the kind words. 

I totally agree, TFL is the best. If i need a recipe or some inspiration, i just go through the bread browser or type in the search box. If i'm unsure about something, there's tons of forums with so many answers! Its really a one stop shop.  

Glad you like the post. 

Happy baking :)

 

It would be so great if didn't have thousands of miles between us, because i'd love to taste you loaves too! 

Happy baking to you too! 

Looks fantastic! Could I feature this on the homepage for a bit?

Absolutely! I'd be honoured :)

I'm so glad you liked it. 

Thanks for this great site. 

Wonderful bread, Ru007! If I could do only half as well, I'd be very satisfied indeed!

Thank you for taking the time to share the photos and especially for writing out the recipe!

You said you're finishing up exams. I assume you're a scholar, studying to embark on something exciting. What are you going to be when you're all grown-up? :)

Murph

Thank you so much for your kind comments :) 

You're so bubbly and encouraging, is so great to have you here. 

Every one makes progress at their own pace. I read a comment you posted the other day and you said "practice, Practice, PRACTICE". I totally agree, i make the same loaf over and over till i'm happy, but i think the trick is to not get frustrated and have fun with every single loaf! I love baking bread, and even the ones that don't do exactly what i want are a great experience and just an excuse for me to bake again :)

I'm training to be a chartered accountant, what we call a CA(SA), (i think its the equivalent of what you call CPA). So i have one more exam to write till i qualify. Yay!! 

so i'm not really a scholar, well, maybe i'm a scholar of all things bread! LOL! 

Happy baking Murph. Can't wait to see you next bake, its a rye loaf right? 

Ru

Being a CPA is a very nice profession.  I used to help train our young CPA's who were all CFO's too in the real world of business accounting and running a business.  They were all top notch and if your accounting is a good as your bread....you will have problems not - as Yoda says.

I would have gone straight to culinary school after high school. That didn't happen. Last year was all about cakes for me i baked LOADS of them, read everything i could get my hands on about the science of cakes and tried my hand at buttercream decorating (I'm not big on fondant type decorating). The plan was to spend this year on bread and next year on pastry and then at some point (little way down the line) open up a bakery. 

Being a CPA is a great profession, but its not the dream, but it'll sure help me know how to run a business (from the numbers point of view anyway) and have some money to do it. 

Well that's a bit about my story! 

Thanks for the encouragement Dab. 

Happy baking. 

Others do what they love .  There is quite a difference in how one feels about their life..... and what they are doing about it.  One makes you feel good and other one makes you happy and satisfied.

Happy baking 

Hi, Ru!

Congratulations on your determination to enter an honorable profession! A lot of wealth is created by paying strict attention to scarce resources. Much more wealth is lost and lives ruined through careless stewardship. I admire your career choice and perseverance toward success.

Best wishes for continued good health, peace, and prosperity. Thank you also for your kind words.

Murph

Awesome crumb on this one Ru!

Thanks for sharing a bit about your dreams and ambitions.  I agree that having a good understanding of accounting and general business will go a long way to help with your goal of opening up a bakery.  I look forward to hearing more in the future as you progress.  Your bread is certainly well on its way :).

I'm so glad you liked it. 

I'm always praying that i'll achieve my goals one day, and if it happens you and all the folks on TFL will get a huge shout out! TFL has been such an encouragement and inspiration. 

Happy baking. 

 

Your baking skills just get better and better.

That's a lovely, and tasty, loaf.

Paul

So nice to hear from you. Hope you're keeping well. 

I'm glad you liked the loaf, i certainly enjoyed baking and eating it! 

Thanks for the compliment. 

Ru

Had to check out your recipe for this one after a look at the photo. Great post/pic and looks like a great bread. 

I've been bitten by the sourdough bug this past few months. I'm producing decent tasting loaves, with a wonderful crust most times, but the grin remains elusive. I have learned so much from these forums. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

Ru, are you baking in a covered pot for steam? Or using some other set up for it? Thanks in advance!

I really admire the way you are going about preparing for your dream. Good luck! With bread like this, you've got part of it in the bag I'd say.

Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement in your first comment. I'm glad you liked the loaf! 

Okay, so my baking setup is very basic. 

I don't have a baking stone or a dutch oven. All i do pre heat my oven with the heavy oven tray still in there. I pour hot water into two mini cake pans and put them in the oven for a minute or so before i put the dough in. I bake my loaves straight from the fridge. So once i've started steaming the oven, i take my dough out the fridge, turn it out of the basket onto a piece of aluminium foil, which i place on a wire cake cooling rack (i use this as a make shift peel. I with double edged razor (i try and score at a fairly shallow angle) then slide the dough (with the foil underneath) onto the metal tray. That's it. 

I have done the overnight autolyse with 40% wholegrain, but i think you can do it with 50%. Have a look at this youtube video (this is where i got the idea):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR8P8hkmSvg

I not sure what room temperature was on the day i made this loaf, it was probably around 21 dC outside on that. I don't measure room or dough temp. During the winter i just try to not let the dough get too cold by letting it ferment in the oven with just the light on. I'll turn the light on and off depending on how warm it starts to feel. In the summer i just leave the dough at whatever room temperature is and just keep an eye on it to see how quickly things are going. Sorry, i know that's not very helpful!

Look forward to seeing some of your bakes here! 

Hi Ru,

Thanks so much for your detailed response. I've been dueling with myself over buying a Combo Cooker when I already have a dutch oven; wondering if I really need a stone, etc. Glad to see that great bakes are possible with the minimum equipment.

When you say "heavy oven tray", do you mean a baking sheet? Or a drip pan? If you could post a picture of the tray, that would help me approximate with something similar at my end. A sheet pan or an upturned wide roasting pan perhaps? I really like the simplicity of your set up - in using my 5+ quart dutch oven, I find that I lose quite a bit of heat while pulling out the heavy pots and lids and putting them back in. Hence I thought I might need a stone. Using my cast iron grill pan at the bottom of the oven in lieu of a stone isn't working because the seasoning flakes off. I can see that just sliding the dough onto a flat surface would likely preserve heat a lot better.

I tried adding a picture of one of my more successful bakes, but am running into trouble uploading my image. Thanks for the video link!

 

yes, i think drip pan is the right term. Its the thing that comes with the oven. I'm not a meat eater so i never use it for its regular use, which i think is for catching juices from roasting? To me, its a make shift baking stone! LOL!! Anyway, there it is. 

I can't really help you with the dutch oven thing, i've never used one. But maybe have a look in some of the forums or create a new topic. Loads of people here use DOs so i'm sure you can get a few tips. 

Posting pictures here can be tricky. Did you try clicking on the little green tree icon? 

Hope that helps. 

Happy baking! 

I'm so glad you liked it :)

Nice to hear from you. I look forward to seeing your next bake :)

That is a lovely, loaf, Ru. I especially like the 'profile' shot! :) Sorry to be late with the comments - we're still in the UK and have just finished a side trip to Prague. They make excellent bread there, along with the good beer. :)

It is nice to know you can bake beautiful and delicious bread with simple equipment and simple ingredients. Such an encouragement for everyone!

Sounds like you're having a good trip. 

Czech bread has got to be interesting, hope you can tell us a bit more about it maybe show us some photo's?) when you're back home. 

Thanks for the compliment. To be honest its nice to be able to encourage other people here. I've learned soooooo much from TFL, so its nice to give back, even a little. 

Happy baking! 

Hello!

 

A lovely loaf it is!!!

My favourite seeded bread currently has Flax seeds and sunflower seeds and occasionally I dip the bread in pumpkin seeds before it goes in the oven. Love it. I'll try adding sesame seeds sometime soon.

Anyway. I was wondering; my seeded breads (and most breads) don't go higher than 70% at this point. You're doing 80%. What mixing method are you using? You are not doing any slap and folds or something, right?

Thank you for the compliment :)  I'd love to see some of your loaves and recipes for seeded bread. I'm a big fan of nuts and seeds in bread!

Nope, no slap and folds. I don't usually do slap and folds, i always end up making a mess when i do :)

The hyrdation does seem high but i find that seeds tend to absorb water from the dough. So by the time the dough has rested for a while it feels more like 75% hydration dough to me. 

I used to mix the seeds in by using stretch and folds, but i found that i wasn't getting a very even distribution. So now i just mix the seeds in a the initial mixing. Then 4 stretch and folds 45 mins apart and that's it. 

Hope that helps?